Ferron Care and Rehab Art Night

The Emery County Care and Rehab in Ferron hosted an evening of art at the facility. The paintings on display are the original art work of Lance Turner. He is 84 years old and lives in Provo. He is a former first place winner of pastel painting in the St. George Art Show. He is also a co-creator of Smoky the Bear. He has paintings throughout the southwestern United States in many galleries. He is the current designer of the Monte L. Bean Museum addition and is a former Brigham Young University Instructor of Art in Advertising.

His paintings include many of the Emery County landscapes. Turner has a love for fishing and painted the upper Provo River and the Teton River. He also paints Native Americans.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the paintings will go to the facility for activities and supplies and field trips for the residents. Turner works on 20-25 paintings at a time and it takes up to six months to complete a set. Turner travels around to different places and then recreates them on the canvas by memory. He visited Emery County and created the mountains surrounding Castle Dale, Dutch Flat and the BookCliffs near Green River.

Larry Friis is the new adminstrator at the facility. He said he loves it here in Emery County and is so impressed with the facility. Everything is working out well for him and his family. They found a house near the care center, so he said he can walk to work. "I love working with the staff. Diane Tadehara is the new director of nursing and she has increased the level of care for our residents. She is a leader in innovation and quality of care. As a team we have been doing self assessments and interviewing the residents to get their ideas on what we can do better. Resident feedback is important and it gives them the opportunity to let their wishes be known. They made suggestions on times for showers, food items they would like to see served and activities they would like to have. These are things we can change. Our average number of residents here at the facility is 38.8. There are people coming and going here constantly as the rehab patients get well and return home. Our rehab side is really growing and we are accommodating more patients. The average stay here for a rehab patient is three weeks.

"They come here and receive intensive therapy and medication. They do exercises that will increase their range of motion. They will have strength and stability training. The whole goal of rehab is so the patient can gain strength and mobility before they return home," said Friis.

Tadehara said one aspect of the therapy is to prepare the patient to return home, so they practice the things the patient will need to do once home. They will practice standing at a stove to cook their meals and at the sink. They will practice getting in and out of cars. They will do exercises that build stamina. The therapy helps them to go home with confidence that they can take care of themselves.

Tadehara said it's a compliment to their program because so many of the residents didn't want to leave to go home, they were enjoying the care they received at the care center. They enjoyed the three meals, showers and all of the services the center provides. When they return home they must pick-up all those chores again. The people must learn to be confident again that they will be able to handle the chores and the return home.

Tadehara said the home health care organizations are really great to assist patients returning home. They will follow-up the care they need at home. They will visit three times a week and spend an hour a day in the home with the patient. A nurse will visit once a week and the aides will visit three times a week.

With the hospital, care center and the home health working together there is a three step recovery plan for those recovering from surgery or injury.

Friis said Emery County Care and Rehab provides the best service possible for the patient and the residents are happy here. "It's their home. We treat the residents the way you would treat your family members. We have comfortable surroundings. We treat our residents like guests and respect this as their home. It's a short drive to Ferron for the quality care received here.

"One thing I've noticed about Ferron, coming from the Salt Lake and Utah County area is the commitment to this facility by the community. The people here know the residents here. They remember them as school teachers, friends and acquaintances. They love the people here. That's the real difference between here and the city. You don't experience that in Utah and Salt Lake counties. It's been a real eye opening experience for me and the sense of care here. It's isolated, but the care here is fabulous. Our grounds cover six acres and we have a garden for the residents. The residents can go out on the campus and walk through the flowers. The local business people are really wonderful to our residents. They are accepted with open arms. We receive great support from the community. We are also a support to family members in their time of need," said Friis.